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Friday, 11 May 2012

Swansea City vs Liverpool: Farewells from Graceland

It's May already?!

Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that the Premier League had a
shiny gloss of untried anticipation about it? Now we're all old pros, having stood face-to-face with the giants, showing planet football that Swansea aren't just making up the numbers.

We've seen so much this
season, and I'll capture those memories in an upcoming blog
post. But for now it's a look ahead to Swansea's final game: at home to
Liverpool.

Brendan Rodgers has
already ensured that the stadium will have a party atmosphere about it, with his request
for fans to wear Elvis costumes on Sunday. This is, of course, to highlight
Swansea's silencing of the critics who said there would be more
chance of seeing the fat man (not Michael Chopra...) reappear
than Swansea surviving the Premier League.

Though Swansea's dreams
of finishing in the top ten have all but gone, along with the other
dream of finishing above Liverpool, the most important dream of
league survival was the only one that needed to come true. And it
did.

So this game shouldn't matter.

But it does. It's the
last chance for the East Stand to shout and sing, showing the club
their appreciation for the season gone by. It's also the chance for
the players to show the fans a final good performance, because the
Swans fans really have played that 12th man role all season. Everyone deserves a good game.

Liverpool are eighth in
the table after giving Chelsea a good thrashing on Tuesday night, and
they have nothing to lose on Sunday either, except dignity;
something they have already lost in bucket-loads this season. They'll
be coming down to Graceland with
intentions to claw a little back, ending their damp season on a high.

I don't expect much in
the shape of a team overhaul from Brendan Rodgers – Liverpool are
still a good footballing force, so the inclusion of weaker fringe
players will probably wait until those pre-season friendlies in America. On Sunday it
should be the same eleven we've seen so much of this season. However, I wouldn't mind seeing Orlandi get a run around again, if he can shake off his injury. He intrigued in his last match...

This could also be the
last game we see Steven Caulker and Gylfi Sigurdsson in Swansea City white, depending on their intentions during the summer. Hopefully they will stay, but if not this will be their farewell game.

Having a final bet of
the season? Put it all on Swansea! 12/5 with the bookies, and well
worth a gamble. The Elvis stunt is bound to create a 13th,
14th and 15th man for the Swans, spurring them on for that final win to round off a memorable season.

It's also worth
sticking a pound on 4-4. You never know.

I'll be back with my
season reviews, player report cards and next season previews over
the next few weeks – until then, Forza Swansea!